July 9, 2013

Shroud Eater - Dead Ends

By Ulla Roschat. Miami fl. based three piece Sludge/Doom band Shroud Eater is back with the EP Dead Ends as a follow up of their debut full length album ThunderNoise (2011). Dead Ends comprises of 5 tracks and has a playtime of about 28 minutes altogether.

Miami fl. based three piece Sludge/Doom band Shroud Eater is back with the EP Dead Ends as a follow up of their debut full length album ThunderNoise (2011). Dead Ends comprises of 5 tracks and has a playtime of about 28 minutes altogether. In these mere 28 minutes quite a lot of things happen, though. And what’s happening mainly here are goove ridden swampy sludge riffs, furious tribal drumming, thick driving basslines and bellowing howling vocals drenched in a haunting and brooding atmosphere.

The intro “Cannibals” sets the mood with its voodoo like drumming and haunting ghostly shouts and echoing cries. All songs carry this initial mood further but each develops its own character around it. Be it the brooding menace and slow build up that crashes down cataclysmically in “Sudden Plague”, the thick sticky muddy slowness of “Lord of the Sword”, the powerful ferocity of “Tempest” or the enchantingly melodic ambience of “The Star and the Serpent.”

Dead Ends is a coloss, the sound is monolithic. The songs are carefully written, perfectly structured and tight. Not one moment is wasted, everything is filled with sense, tension and atmosphere. They refer to and complement each other. But what amazes me most is the way Jean Saiz, Janette Valentine and Felipe Torres play off each other. This is what makes everything sound incredibly organic and unique.